Midnight Circus
by pirouetta
Summary: The abandoned circus. People are advised to stay away from the place. So, why did Ryou want Anzu to meet him there? Hostshipping for the YGO Fanfiction Contest S10R2.


Midnight Circus

_What is this place?_

Anzu glanced at the shards of broken glass littered on the floor, glimpsing her warped reflection on them. The mirrors placed along the corridor were either cracked or blurred. Nowhere could Anzu see a clear image of herself. Tins of paint placed atop a cabinet were rusted from years of expose to the weather. A unicycle lay on its side in the corner, the wheel torn of its tyre. Anzu gave the pedal an experimental kick, which sent the wheel spinning, the creaking noise of the rusted gears breaking the quiet.

Anzu shivered. The fact that it was night time - near midnight to be precise - gave this place a spookier atmosphere than it already did. She had come here many times, but never this far, and not when it was in this state. When this place was abandoned, rumours had spread all over the neighbourhood, that the eccentric ringmaster had killed all the members of his circus (someone had allegedly seen blood splattered around the main tent, although this was just heresy), others thought the performers were not really human, as they had just shown up one day and disappeared just as abruptly. Anzu had heard many other stories, but none were ever proven true - not even the police could make head or tail of what had happened as all the evidence seemed conflicting, and thus the abandoned circus remained a mystery.

When the circus was active, Anzu's mother had brought her to view some of the performances. It was fascinating to her seven-year-old self, watching them scale ropes with ease, dangling up at heights that made Anzu's legs shiver just by looking up at them, dancing around the stage with effortless grace; the ringmaster, Anzu remembered, had a strange little top hat that never seemed to fall off no matter how much he moved his head, and a trumpet he never played.

The circus was a great inspiration to her passion for dance as well. Since she was five, Anzu had been taking ballet classes at her mother's insistence, but she had never been able to muster up any enthusiasm until she saw the circus. Anzu had been awed by the way the performers moved their bodies, their ability to charm the audience with what they do, and that made Anzu want to be like them.

Anzu sighed as she stepped over more glass shards. She was in one of the few tents that were almost as large as the main tent, one of those used for storage, if the mayhem around her was any indication. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to be looking out for. What did Ryou say again?

* * *

><p><em>"Midnight at the abandoned circus? Why?"<em>

_"I have something for you," Ryou said, "you'll find out once you're there. Just remember, wear something nice. Like one of the outfits you dance in."_

_Anzu glanced at Ryou with a questioning look. "You want me to go there in a tutu?"_

_"Yup!" Ryou giggled then, while Anzu sent her boyfriend an appraising look. "As I said, you'll find out once you get there. You trust me, don't you?"_

_"I do," Anzu said with a nod, though she wasn't sure this time. Ryou placed a light kiss against her forehead as reassurance._

_"I'll be in the tent right at the back. Prepare yourself for a surprise when you get there!"_

* * *

><p>She was now in a section where they kept the musical instruments in. Lutes, trumpets, drums, accordions, they were all over the place. Anzu picked up a lute lying on the ground beside her, and coughed when the dust that had collected on it flung into the air due to its displacement. She placed it down quickly, and continued onwards.<p>

_Tap_.

Anzu froze. She couldn't determine where the sound was coming from, but it was close.

_Tap_.

A corner of a photograph seemed to be sticking out from under an accordion. Anzu ignored her paranoia as she pulled it out, dislodging some others in the process. Even in the dim light, Anzu could tell that the photographs were more than decades old. One depicted a group of people sitting in front of the main tent; although Anzu couldn't make out their faces, she saw that the person seated in the centre front seemed to have a wild, star-shaped hairstyle.

"Weird," Anzu mumbled, then jumped as another-

_Tap_.

-resonated. It sounded louder this time. Maybe it was Ryou?

"Hey, stop messing with me," Anzu called, subconsciously rubbing her arms. "Ryou, where are you?"

There was no response except for another-

_Tap_.

Anzu smoothed out her tutu as she continued walking down the aisle. Her hand brushed against something while she tried to get her footing amidst piles of books. She didn't expect that something to respond to her touch as a high female voice rang out.

_Don't you dare look back  
><em>_As the clock ticks away, tick-tack  
><em>_Wait and see, our final necessity  
><em>_The highlight of the show  
><em>_Come on and see_

It was a gramophone she had touched... her own voice she had been listening to, except that she had never in her life touched a gramophone record, nor did she know that song. "Okay, this isn't funny anymore..." Anzu moved away from the instrument warily, until her back made contact with a shelf and caused some books to fall. "Ryou! Where are you?"

Still no response. The tapping seemed to have ceased, for the moment, anyway. Anzu checked her watch. Eleven-fifty-seven. If Ryou didn't show up soon she might just start hyperventilating.

A bright light was shone onto her face and she shrieked, scrambling to get away from... whatever.

"Anzu! Hey, Anzu!"

"Ryou!" At the unmistakable sound of her boyfriend's voice, Anzu glanced up briefly to affirm his identity, before throwing herself at him, and then hitting him anywhere she could get her hands on. The torch rolled away from them in the ruckus.

"You... stupid! Left me... here... all alone... scared..."

"It's alright now, Anzu," Ryou tried to massage her back as well as he could, what with his girlfriend beating the sense out of him. "_Ow_! You can stop hitting me now, Anzu..."

"You deserved it," Anzu groused and finally stopped with her ministrations. At least she hadn't started crying. "So, what surprise am I supposed to look forward to?"

"Ah, it's a little further in," Ryou grinned, and took her hand. "I can't wait to show you."

Anzu let Ryou lead her around piles upon piles of circus props and instruments, until they reached a clearing, on which a board was set on the ground. It took a few moments for Anzu to recognise what it was.

"Isn't this... the Monster World board you made all those years ago?" Anzu stared at the board as past memories were dredged up from the recesses of her mind. Memories she never wanted to revisit.

"Not exactly," Ryou said lightly. "I made some modifications to the locations and characters, but everything else is the same."

There was just enough moonlight streaming through a tear in the roof to see most of the board. It did look different from Anzu last remembered - this one looked more like a mini-model of a kingdom than a simple game board.

"Wow, this is amazing, Ryou!" Anzu bent down to inspect the castle on one end, eyes wide in wonder. "There's even a moat and stables for horses!"

"Yeah, I really went crazy with this one," Ryou crouched down beside Anzu to survey his own work. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it! Any collector would pay _millions_ for this!"

"You flatter me too much, Anzu," Ryou laughed.

"So, what's all this for?" Anzu wondered aloud. "You told me to come here in a tutu to marvel at your amazing talents?"

"... I thought we could play, Anzu," Ryou murmured. "We've been together almost two years, I... I thought it'd be fun if we played a game of Monster World. I've even made a special doll for you, here," Ryou fumbled inside a small sack Anzu didn't realise he had with him, bringing out a miniature figurine that had been carved in her likeness. It was even wearing a tutu like she was.

"This... is very pretty, Ryou," Anzu smiled as she was handed the doll, turning it over to scrutinise every detail. The bun in her hair, the long tights, the pink corset, and of course, the white tutu. "I love it." She placed a kiss on her boyfriend's cheek. "Thank you."

"... So, shall we play, then?" Ryou gestured to the other side of the board, where the villages were laid out beside a sprawling forest. "You'll be the adventurer, and I'll be the dark master."

"Of course," Anzu and Ryou sat cross-legged at their respective sides, in anticipation for the game to start.

Ryou brandished some crumpled sheets of paper from his sack, and held them out to Anzu. "Choose your character."

* * *

><p>AN: I planned this to be longer, but time constraint prevented so. A lot of this was inspired by Sunny Hill's song Midnight Circus. The lyrics in here were made up by myself.


End file.
